Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2023
Leeuwin Estate, one of the founding wineries in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, is a family producer with an international reputation for creating wines ranking alongside the world’s finest. Established in 1973 by Denis and Tricia Horgan, with early mentorship by Napa Valley’s Robert Mondavi, a nursery was planted in 1974 with vineyard sites planted from 1975. Enjoying its first commercial vintage in 1979, Leeuwin Estate was thrust into the global wine spotlight when Decanter Magazine highly recommended the 1981 “Art Series” Chardonnay after an international blind tasting. The outstanding accolades have continued, with Leeuwin Estate wines found in leading Restaurants and Wine Merchants across 30 markets. Now under the stewardship of three generations of the founding family, who work alongside a team of dedicated viticulturalists and winemakers, the focus remains firmly on sustainable viticulture showcasing the purity and clarity of fruit to create site expressive wines of the finest quality.
Intensely concentrated and lifted, the nose arrives with a rush, all fresh cut pear, white peach, ripe lime zest and pith, before jasmine, white florals and vanilla pods emerge, rounded out by cashew meal and toasted macadamia.
The palate builds and builds. Gentle, natural acidity is orbited by apple, pear, white nectarine and ripe citrus, all showing their own persistence and drive, but never supplanting the wine’s overarching elegance - the completely integrated oak and delicate, layered texture serve to subtly, quietly hem in the fruit characters as they fan out. Profoundly powerful and immensely long, this is a wine of distinction with a remarkable life ahead.
